Limited Edition Bilbo and some BrickForge

I finally found him.  The Limited Edition exclusive Bilbo baggins minifigure, that came with the Stateside DVD set of An Unexpected Gathering, the first The Hobbit movie.

One of the last remaining pieces that I missed in my collection of Lego Middle Earth, though the counter will be going up by one during this year as it seems part 3 comes with a Bain exclusive figure.  The middle movie had the Legolas figure that was available in polybag, so that wasn`t hard to track down in Europe.

This version of Bilbo, still mint in it`s insert packaging (well, he was when he arrived, the packaging is already gone hehe), comes with a lighter blue coat then the one included in the latest set Desolation of Smaug, and is hanging open right down the waistline.  This shows off a yellow undercoat and a blue white pattern scarf.

Sweet little figure that will find his way into one of my display builds over time.

I also received my very first BrickForge order ever yesterday.  I`m not against third party parts at all, the more variation, the better.  I learned about them when I got my boxes of STUDS trading cards last year, and those card packages included inserts with a custom piece to them.

When I recently read on The Brick Blogger (see my sidebar of followed blogs for the address) aout a 30 under 30 cents sale, I went in for a look.

That action lists their end of line items at a very cheap price, and so I ordered a few items around there, mostly one or two copies of some items, but also 10 potion flasks and 5 black pigs, great for adding details to medieval life. 

I also received without problem their `gift of the month`, a blister of pieces that you get freely when you order for a certain, low amount (15 USD I believe it was).  Of course, I had to mail them right after making my order, as I hadn`t read you had to add the bonus pack manually to your cart, in blind `habit` I thought it would be added automatically like promo polybags are on the main Lego site.

But it wasn`t a problem and when the enveloppe arrived yesterday, the nice gemstones pack was right there in it.  Top notch, and I can say for certain I will be back with them as the pieces are excellent looking and good quality plastic.